Something She Loves
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Jake finds a sport for Gia that may just turn into her passion: Mountain Boarding. Gia's determined to make it down the mountain, but it may be Emma who finds something waiting for her at the bottom.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made._

_Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:_

_**No To Date Nights**_

_**The Party Night**_

_**Project Partners**_

_**Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks**_

_**Prom Night**_

_**A Trip To Remember**_

_**First Meetings**_

Emma, Troy, Jake, and Noah all winced as Gia wiped out once again and was dragged several feet down the mountain before gravity took pity on her and let her stop. Emma looked on with worry as she regretted listening to Jake. Troy tried to hold back a laugh. Noah shook his head from side to side, believing this to be a lot of effort for a lot of pain.

Jake ran down the mountain and helped Gia up to her feet. He picked up her board for her and smiled.

"Glad I made you wear the padded shorts now?"

"This is stupid," Gia pulled her helmet from her head and tossed it down, "I can't stay up!"

"Do you think I scored a goal in my first soccer game," Jake picked up her helmet and handed it back to her, "Mountain boarding is hard at first, just like any other sport."

Gia looked at Jake and sighed. He had surprised her with the board and the protective equipment, and he had taken her and the others on a trip to the mountains so Gia could try her hand at a unique sport. She didn't have a hobby or a passion to call her own, so Jake wanted to help her find something. The least she could do was give it a fair go. She put the helmet back on her head and strapped the board to her feet once more. Jake held her up. He didn't want her to slip down before she was ready.

"It's like snowboarding," he told her. "Balance and confidence. Don't try too much at once. Just focus on getting down the hill in one piece."

Gia nodded and signalled for Jake to let her go. With a little push, she started to roll down the hill again. Jake cheered her on.

"Go Gia!"

Emma and the boys came down the mountain. Emma punched Jake in the arm.

"You're going to get her killed."

"Is BMX really any safer?"

"I'm good at it. I know what I'm doing," Emma bit her lip and watched as Gia almost took another fall down the mountain, but the yellow Ranger kept her balance and continued to roll down at a steady pace. Emma glared at Jake, "She's going to break her neck!"

"She won't break her neck," Jake assured Emma. "Besides, we were bound to find something she didn't have a natural talent in. Gia might like the challenge."

"It could give her a feeling of success," Troy said.

"Success?" Noah frowned. "The girl with a ninety-eight percent average needs more success?"

"School's too easy for Gia," Emma explained. "Asking Gia to write a high school level test would be like asking you to set up the blue-ray player. Speaking of…"

"Tell the Morans I'll stop by this weekend," Noah nodded.

"Anyways," Jake looked at Emma, "None of us were good at our hobbies when we first started. Gia showed me the first few pictures you took…"

"The camera was crap."

"And isn't that scar on your wrist from your first big crash?"

Emma put her hand behind her back and frowned, "Alright, fine, but if she has a big crash, you're going to answer to me."

"She'll be fine. I got the extra padded protection," Jake said. He then pointed down the mountain, "We should go after her, though. Who knows where she is at this point?"

Emma climbed back up to the starting point quickly to get her bike and then rode down to catch up to Gia quickly. Troy, Noah, and Jake ran down the mountain, following the trail Gia was supposed to stay on.

Emma made it down to the button first and saw Gia on the ground. She jumped off her bike and ran to her best friend.

"Are you okay? What hurts? I knew this was a bad idea…"

"Emma, I'm fine," Gia smiled and gently pushed the pink Ranger away, "I made it all the way down. Well, almost."

"What do you mean, you made it?" Emma frowned. Gia's clothes, the padding, and her helmet were all covered in dirt. "Gia…"

"I didn't see the root," Gia pointed to a root sticking out on the trail Jake had marked for her. "I ran right into it. It's fine, though. I'm not hurt."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Gia laughed and she had to push Emma away again, "Wow, that is annoying. Remind me to never to do that you again."

"Hey!" Jake smiled as he and the boys reached the bottom of the mountain. He walked over to Gia and offered his hand to help her up, "You made it down!"

"Almost," Gia nodded. "The root at the bottom got me."

"How was the ride?"

"Pretty cool."

"Want another go?"

A smile crept up on Gia's lip and she nodded her head. Jake grabbed her board for her and the two started to climb the mountain. They wouldn't go too high up, as Gia was only just a beginner. Still, it was high enough for Emma to worry.

"Why couldn't Jake have gotten her a rubber ducky and a kiddie pool? You know, swimming lessons?"

"Gia's doing pretty well for her first day," Troy said and he gave Emma a little nudge. "It seems she does like the challenge."

"Besides, Mountain Boarding and BMX are pretty similar," Noah pointed out. "Though Gia will need a bit of a slope to keep going, the two of you could find a track and ride together. You'll each have your own thing, but you'll do it together."

"Okay, that's pretty cool, and good thinking on Jake's part, but…"

Emma stopped when she saw Gia coming down the mountain. This time, there was no fall halfway down. However, Gia still couldn't avoid that root at the bottom of the path. She hit it and tumbled forward, rolling in the dirt until Emma, Troy, and Noah caught her.

"Gia!"

"That damn root!" with Troy's hand, Gia pulled herself back up. She grabbed her board in her hands and looked up the mountain, "I'll get it this time!" she called to Jake before running back up. Emma bit the nail on her thumb. Troy wrapped his arm around her and laughed.

"She's having fun. I got my ass handed to me so many times when I first started studying martial arts. I think it was three concussions and six losses before I finally tasted my first victory."

"Concussions!"

"They were minor," Troy assured her, but Emma didn't care. She looked up the hill at Gia. Troy realized that she wasn't concerned for him and looked over at Noah.

"It's like trying to talk down a worried parent."

"Gia, be careful!" Emma called out. Gia made it down the mountain, but was distracted when Emma called to her. She looked up, forgot about the root, and tripped again. She earned herself another big wipeout.

"Gia!"

"Next time," Gia muttered as she picked up her board again. She was determined to at least conquer her first run. She ran up the hill.

"You know," Noah said to Emma, "It's not how often you fall down, but how often you get back up."

"This is a stupid sport."

"And BMX…"

"I know what I'm doing! Do you think they have helmets to put on top of helmets?"

"She'll need extra padding for her butt," Troy laughed as Gia wiped out just after getting started on this run. Just like the other times before, Gia got up and tried again.

"A stupid sport. A stupid, stupid sport," Emma muttered. She bit her nail and her tongue as Gia came down the mountain again. She saw the yellow Ranger had her eye on the root and was praying to any God that could to help.

Gia was focused this time. She didn't know how to turn the board, but did what she could to jump. The board did as she commanded and lifted from the ground. She went over the root, but her landing wasn't smooth. She hit the ground, hard, and swallowed a mouthful of dirt.

"GIA!"

Gia spit out as much dirt as she could. The taste of mud in her mouth told her she couldn't get it all out. With a sour look on her face, she tried to spit again.

Emma dropped by her best friend's side and helped her sit up. She knew wipeouts could hurt. The ground was unforgiving, especially with beginners. Many of Emma's most painful and dangerous falls had happened when she had just been learning to ride. It was the reason she was so concerned for Gia.

"Water helps," a bottle was handed to Emma and she took it without looking up. She gave the bottle to Gia and looked her over for broken bones.

"Emma…"

"Does anything hurt?"

"Emma…"

"Gia, if this isn't working out, it's okay. It's not a failure, it's just not your thing."

"Emma, turn around," Gia said. Finding that to be too odd a request to ignore, Emma looked over her shoulder. She frowned at first at the stranger standing over her, and then she noticed he wasn't a stranger.

"Jordan?" she dropped Gia in the dirt and jumped up. She threw her arms around Jordan and hugged him tightly before it all sunk in. She let him go and backed away slowly, "Wait… What are… You're supposed to be upstate!"

Jordan nodded his head and reached into his bag, "I stopped by your place. Mrs. Moran said you were here with the guys."

"My place? You… you know I live with the Morans?"

Jordan pulled out a picture of himself and Emma from his bag and smiled, "I don't remember everything, but there's no way I can forget how much you mean to me."

"Are you… you can't be…" Emma shook her head. Her chin started to quiver. She backed away, tripping over Gia slightly. She couldn't believe this was happening. It all had to be a dream.

"Emma, I'm so sorry," Jordan reached his hand out, hoping she would accept it. "I did what I thought was best at the time but… I had no way of knowing. But… but I'm back. At least, for the summer. I convinced my parents to let me take an art class here. So… um… if you wanted to just… forget the whole thing happened, you know, we could…"

Emma threw herself back into Jordan's arms and pulled him in for a kiss. She didn't care if it was a dream. He was back. It was all she wanted.

"While she's busy with that," Gia smirked to herself as she got back to her feet and started up the mountain for one more run, hoping this would be the time she would ace level one. I never thought I'd be glad to see you, Jordan!"

Jordan waved off the comment and held Emma tightly in his arms. He had missed her. In the little time he had remember her and everything she meant to him, he had missed her deeply. He couldn't imagine what she had gone through.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I feel like such an idiot."

"Just don't… don't do it again," Emma hugged him tightly and buried her face in his shoulder. She stayed that way, perfectly content in his arms, until, from out of nowhere, Gia came down the mountain and landed right on her and Jordan. The yellow Ranger knocked the couple to the ground and fell between them, forcing them apart.

Gia looked up at the sky and took off her helmet. She sat up and smiled up the mountain at Jake. She gave him a thumbs up, "Nailed it!"


End file.
